Hi,
Im looking for some help. Decided to teach myself how to hurl (!) but I find Im really inconsistent with hitting the ball, often Im missing it alltogether. I've tried to stick with some of the GAA coaching stuff I've found online, keeping my eye on the ball, keeping it close enough etc. After a few hours of practice I haven't really improved and it is annoying me, is there anything simple/obvious I might be doing wrong or am I just crap?
Thanks lads.
If you're starting at the start then you have to work from the easiest to the hardest. The swing in hurling is a bit different than say baseball and how you should hold the hurley is important too. But from a basic improving your striking, I would suggest you start by striking on the ground, just hitting it first and not worrying about distance. You could also place the ball on a pointy cone so the ball is elevated (but still stationary) to replicate the hitting of a ball above ground level so to speak. Perhaps lightly throwing a tennis ball up and leaving it bounce before striking would be a development on that, though this would have to be done on a flat hard surface to get a consistent bounce. Like any skill it is a matter of getting the right technique and than repeating through practice. You might also start using bigger and softer balls and even balloons as they will be easier to hit and slower to drop giving you a better chance of success.
Thanks for that, the tennis ball seems like a good idea that I hadn't thought of myself.
Sure why not post up a video on YouTube of your swing.
Where you toss the ball is critical to a good swing. Throw it straight out in front of you and the swing goes pear shaped. Throwing it forward of your body opens up the swing. How far you throw it away from you is trial and error but you don't throw it too close cause it really shuts the swing down . A short light stick, tennis ball and a wall.
Might make a video, for some reason I'm finding the tennis ball way eaiser to hit from my hand than a sliotar, maybe if I persist with that for a few days it will make me generally better and then switch back to the sliotar.
The Junior B career might happen after all!
I would head for The Wall, TheWall along with your tennis ball.
Get your hand to eye coordination in first.
See http://www.brianmac.co.uk/handeye.htm (http://www.brianmac.co.uk/handeye.htm)
Just keep at it and in no time you will be connecting with the ball as it comes back off the wall. It will be just like trying to ride a bike, one day it will all come together.
(At first glance I thought you were Olly messing again and I was going to suggest he get his eye in with a fly swat by chasing down wasps for a week and then progress on to gadfly's.)
strike the ball at knee height
wristy swing
Try gripping the hurley a good 6-8 inches from the base of the grip, a snappy wristy swing is what you want, find a wall and keep at it for an hour. Once you start hitting it on the sweet spot of the hurley you're away with it.
The tennis ball is a good trick but it'll give you false confidence, a tennis ball will travel far no matter how you connect with it.
Find a wall, use a sliothar and watch out for windows.
Quote from: stevetharlear on May 29, 2013, 12:07:28 AM
Try gripping the hurley a good 6-8 inches from the base of the grip, a snappy wristy swing is what you want, find a wall and keep at it for an hour. Once you start hitting it on the sweet spot of the hurley you're away with it.
The tennis ball is a good trick but it'll give you false confidence, a tennis ball will travel far no matter how you connect with it.
Find a wall, use a sliothar and watch out for windows.
Jez, its hard to explain a good swing, but we'd teach youngsters the big 'C' almost starting off like a golf swing (with the opposite grip) eyes on the ball, with the feet apart for balance and following through. Once they're hitting it regularly with the sweet spot of the hurl then get them to step into the ball.
It's far easier showing someone rather than put it in words.
Quote from: johnneycool on May 29, 2013, 08:45:07 AM
It's far easier showing someone rather than put it in words.
I think I may enroll in a Cul Camp for the summer! I was using a sliotar but switched to the tennis ball just to get the swing right and like you say connect with the right spot on the bas of the hurl but I don't seem to be developing much consistency.
I'm going to make a video to explain this
Its the only way to do it
This isn't a very helpful comment, but anyway . . . I think picking up the basic skills of hurling is like learning a language or playing the violin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_method#Background). Very young children pick it up without even trying simply by being exposed to it. After a certain age, acquiring the skill becomes a lot trickier. I remember we used have a puckabout at lunchtime when I worked in Galway. There were two lads from Donegal. One of them, his father was from Tipperary and he was just fantastic. All the basic skills combined with an iron temperament. Captain of the Fermanagh hurling team at the time (parish rule stuff). The other lad had never picked up a hurley in his life and he couldn't even pick up a tennis ball. It was painful to watch. I'll be intrigued to see how TheWall progresses with his learning. Go n-éirí an bóthar leat.
Quote from: deiseach on June 06, 2013, 09:40:24 AM
It was painful to watch. I'll be intrigued to see how TheWall progresses with his learning.
I know what you mean about leaving something too late to be any good at it.
I don't know if this is painful to watch but here is a video of me with a tennis ball and a sliotar, not every swing works out! Might be better if I did a slow mo one with a better angle to actually show my swing? I haven't practiced in a week cos I don't know if the project is worth persisting with!
http://youtu.be/t6GKg8LHrc8
Ok first things first, if you want to be a hurler you'll need that haircut and proper footwear! ;D
You're not doing too bad there, but you are throwing the ball up too high and hitting it too low. You should hold the hurley shorter and try throwing the ball to eye level at the most. Then striking it at that level or just when it starts to drop. Also, more power from the wrist and less from the arms.
Thanks Steve! Shortening the hurl and hitting it higher has made an instant difference, I never miss it now and it it much better. You can't bate a bit of human feedback.
http://www.independent.ie/sport/lions-get-a-feel-for-a-truly-dangerous-sport-29360111.html (http://www.independent.ie/sport/lions-get-a-feel-for-a-truly-dangerous-sport-29360111.html)
O'Connell looks to have a poor strike for the size of him.....
Heard a rather disturbing story this week of some ex county hurling manager was brought in for a session with the Vincents (Dublin) U14 squad this week as they sometimes do.
Apparently he went through several tips on how to play dirty and rough and get away with it.
Just wondering had anyone else heard about this?
Don't think there was many parents there but the kids told them when they got home.
A mate here at work was telling me that his mates were telling him that evening in the pub what their kids were up to.
For anyone who's interested, I took a break from this for about a month and when I got back to it is all starting to come together. I can now hit the ball off the wall reasonably consistently and deliver it back into my hand. It's defintely all about the swing, when the swing is right it just works. I've also noticed my bad side has improved a bit as my good side improved. I think it's just general improved hurl/sliotar coordination.
Get that swing of yours onto youtube and "we'll" be the judge of how well you're doing ;)
Fair play to you for sticking at it. Have you been practicing anything else? (lifting, ground swing, batting the ball .....?)
https://www.facebook.com/FrTedQuotes (https://www.facebook.com/FrTedQuotes)
go to 12:30 on the video.
DJ makes a few very valid points about the swing
two more things I would add - the starting position of the hurley is important. I always emphasis children to hold it 'like a sword' in front of the body and use a wristy swing using the forearms
and the throw of the ball is important - small throw, ball struck at knee height
Quote from: theskull1 on July 18, 2013, 12:24:14 AM
Get that swing of yours onto youtube and "we'll" be the judge of how well you're doing ;)
Fair play to you for sticking at it. Have you been practicing anything else? (lifting, ground swing, batting the ball .....?)
Might consider another video at the weekend when I get a bit more polished!
I never pick the ball up with my hand always scoop it up, have been working at some catching and batting too. The likes of taking a free off the ground seems pretty hard though, a lot of decentish club hurlers even seem bad at that. Also need to start knocking it to another person and back, the unmoving wall doesn't really help judging delivery etc.
Quote from: theskull1 on July 18, 2013, 12:24:14 AM
Get that swing of yours onto youtube and "we'll" be the judge of how well you're doing ;)
Ok , here it is now against the wall. Its improved for sure and can hit it reasonably long too but inconsistently, might not really be connecting with the right part of the bas, anyway, let me know if you can suggest obvious improvements.
http://youtu.be/qwvbwhUljkA
Fair play to ye
OK a few things I've spotted
Your grip is too limp :o .....Get that right hand round the shaft good and tight (where the thumb and index finger meets)
Now back to the hurling :D
Seriously...when you're holding the hurl, ready to swing, your grip should be such that the stick is at right angle to your arm.
The next thing is to point the stick up to the sky. The toe of the stick should be almost touching the temple on the rhs of you head with a strong grip in your right hand. This is all BEFORE you toss the ball....logic being there's no point in starting your swing from the bottom when it has to come up before going down again..so start it in the up position as it really speeds up the swing
As you toss the ball he's one other thing to work on .....imagine your looking straight down on yourself and your shoulders are in the east west position just before you toss the ball......when you toss it (you ball toss is too exaggerated ...you don't need to throw it as high when you speed up the swing) and are bringing your left hand toward the stick...try and twist your torso so that your shoulders get to the North South position before the down swing (both hands should be on the stick before you get that position)
On the down stroke...try and swing along a horizontal plane ...your swing currently is curving down around knee height as it travels to meet the ball....imagine striking the ball in a straight line in front of you (going for goal) ...now try and get your swing on that trajectory as it comes down...tough to explain...but as your swing comes down around waist height your stick should be going in a straight line as I look at you in the video. For longer striking the swing will curve more as I look at it on the video.
Have probably fried your head.... :o
Quote from: theskull1 on July 20, 2013, 12:06:58 AM
Have probably fried your head.... :o
Cheers skull.
I get what you are saying, thanks for the input. When I compare it to some other clips on youtube I can see what you are driving at. Im getting more power doing it your way but haven't really got it down yet especially when I get my whole body into it.
The only reason I know hardstation is joking is becasue there are no hurling clubs in Ulster, right ? :D
Quote from: neilthemac on July 18, 2013, 01:08:36 PM
two more things I would add - the starting position of the hurley is important. I always emphasis children to hold it 'like a sword' in front of the body
neil this is really good advice, I've just realised thourgh practice how important the starting postion is, Ive been starting all wrong!
Good man
too many kids fail to reach their potential at hurling because they either have the hurley low when starting their swing, or they have the ball and hurley touching - they get frustrated when it doesn't work for them
I should also mention that you are throwing the ball too far out in front of you (to the left, as you'd see it)
it should be dropping in linewith your leg or mid-point of body
as your body is asymmetrical the sweet spot for your strike is somewhere between the knee and hip as you shift your weight from back foot to front foot (very technical, but that sort of information actually works for some kids)
the next thing ,after mastering the basic stroke is to start turning the hips into the stroke to allow you properly hit on the run
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l93DPGnN0Uk (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l93DPGnN0Uk)
Thanks for the video link, I'm using that exercise of just throwing and watching the ball to shoulder height to learn to control the ball toss.
I think my swing is technically ok now compared to how it was. Have had to move to the hurling field to get some decent practice! Are there any coaching tips on how to work on the swing on your bad side? I find it difficult, I can connect with the sliotar but that's about it.